Bless the Mad - Bless The Mad (2020)

brahem Hasan and Matthew Rivera, Chicagoans through and through, a Palestinian and a Puerto Rican Jew, met there, during the market’s second iteration on Canal street, both digging furiously for records, books, and old recording gear.

Hailing from opposite ends of the city, they connected at its center, every Sunday, rain or shine, among the forgotten objects that washed up there. Max was church; a living museum of old Chicago from which to learn and draw inspiration. For the budding beat-makers participating in hip-hop’s golden age, the flea was an important 6th element.

BLESS THE MAD, the group’s self-titled debut, is an audio collage and musical tribute to those years in Chicago as they experienced them. It represents and connects all the dots, from their break-obsessed early years to their current roles as ambassadors of militant jazz, tough soul, and spiritual rap exotica. It is a loving homage to the past with an eye toward the future.